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25 years since the NATO air attacks against Serbia

2024-03-24 09:30:00, Kosova & Bota CNA

25 years ago today, the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) carried out aerial bombing against the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia during the Kosovo War.

The airstrikes lasted from 24 March 1999 to 10 June 1999. The bombing continued until an agreement was reached that led to the withdrawal of the Yugoslav Army from Kosovo and the establishment of the United Nations Interim Administration Mission in Kosovo, a UN peacekeeping mission in Kosovo.

NATO's intervention was prompted by Yugoslavia's attack and ethnic cleansing of Albanians, which drove Albanians into neighboring countries and had the potential to destabilize the region. The actions of Yugoslavia had already provoked the condemnation of international organizations and agencies such as the UN, NATO and various NGOs.

Yugoslavia's refusal to sign the Rambouillet Agreement was initially offered as justification for NATO's use of force.

NATO countries tried to get UN Security Council authorization for military action, but were opposed by China and Russia, which indicated they would veto such a move. As a result, NATO launched its intervention without the approval of the UN, declaring that it was a humanitarian intervention. The UN Charter prohibits the use of force except in the case of a Security Council decision under Chapter VII, or in self-defense against an armed attack, neither of which was present in this case.

By the end of the war, the Yugoslavs had killed between 1,500 and 2,131 combatants. 10,317 civilians were killed or disappeared, 85% of whom were Kosovo Albanians, and around 848,000 were expelled from Kosovo.

In the days following the withdrawal of the Yugoslav army, over 164,000 Serbs and 24,000 Roma fled Kosovo.

The bombing was NATO's second major combat operation, following the 1995 bombing campaign in Bosnia and Herzegovina. It was the first time that NATO had used military force without the express approval of the UN Security Council and, consequently, international legal approval, which caused debates on the legitimacy of the intervention./ CNA